It’s not often people find themselves particularly flush at this time of year. Most are focusing on Christmas and racking their brains with what to buy their loved ones. Usually, people are focusing on how to cut down on expenses, not where to put excess cash. But it can happen. A lot of the time it’s easier to just leave your money in the bank than do anything with it, but it’s so wasteful. The key is to make your money work for you passively, and there are a lot of ways you can go about doing that. You can find a few of them below. These aren't all encompassing, and the perfect investment option for you might not be there but it can give you a flavour regarding what’s available, and can allow you to start thinking in the right way about your money.
Investment Platform
It’s always super important to find the right investment platform. Some are utterly dubious and will take you for a ride by charging excess commision. Some specialise in certain investments, such as stock, or cryptocurrency, but you should always do the leg work yourself, for example by checking a bitcoin profit review before deciding to invest. There are some great reviews out there which can help you decide which platform to go for. However, some of these can have agendas too, so try to be careful. People focus on the investment, and not the vehicle for investment while it can be just as important.
Precious Metals
They’ve always been a clean and easier way to invest. Metals usually hold their value, especially if you’re talking about gold. There are other kinds out there you can go for though, both cheaper and more expensive depending on what you want. Make sure you buy from a registered seller, and that you store it somewhere safe and insured. Metals are a great way to hedge against currency fluctuations.
ISA
Opening one isn’t going to cost you anything. Check the interest rates, and if you’ve just got money sitting in a current account, put it in an ISA. At least you’ll make a little more money in interest. There are different types, and it all depends on how long you want to lock away your cash for. Just remember, you can’t access it again until the ISA term is up or you could lose interest or have to pay a fee.
Government Bonds
They’re one of the more secure bonds out there but as a trade off you’ll be losing better returns than if you went for private company bond issuances. Going government is a sure bet though because they aren’t going to go out of business. Just be sure to check your duration because you might not be able to cash in or sell for an extended period of time. If you wanted to diversify, which you should try to do, then finding a private company bond to buy as well as government means you’re in for a wider payout while hedging your potential loss by the gain on the government bond. It’s a simple but effective tactic, however, everyone's situation is different ao do what’s right for you.
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